


Forever and Always

by dindjarindiaries



Category: Star Wars, The Mandalorian, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26141521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dindjarindiaries/pseuds/dindjarindiaries
Summary: When you and Din finally find the child’s home, it’s time to say goodbye—but then Din realizes he can’t.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Reader, The Mandalorian/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 63





	Forever and Always

You never thought you’d see the day.

The child already senses it himself, his big eyes full of emotions you can’t quite read as he looks out of the transparisteel of the cockpit. Din’s landing the _Crest_ down onto the surface of the planet the child once called home—the one you’ve been trying to find for so long. You hold the baby tight in your lap as you run a hand over his hairy head, smiling down at him as he looks up at you with his ears drooped.

“You’re home, _ad’ika_ ,” you tell him, pushing past any of your sadness as you press a kiss to his little head. He coos excitedly up at you, his tiny hands reaching for your cheeks so he can press his forehead to yours. Your heart swells at the gesture, and you close your eyes for a moment as you take in what affection you have left from your adopted son.

The _Crest_ makes its full descent, and you lift your head from the baby’s to look at Din. He’s been silent ever since he announced that he’d finally found the child’s people, focusing on getting the child there safely as soon as possible. You’d only had one night through hyperspace spent together since receiving the news, and your _riduur_ was quieter than ever as he buried his face in your hair, holding you just a bit closer than usual. You know this is going to be the hardest on him—you’d joined the crew and family after Din had already taken in the child as his own, and while your own bond with the child runs deep, theirs goes even deeper.

Din stands from his chair almost as if your gaze has burned him, disappearing out of the cockpit and down the ladder without a sound. You and the baby look worriedly at each other, both sensing his unspoken distress as you follow after him silently. When you get down to the hull, you notice Din sweeping over the ship, as if he’s making sure the baby has everything he needs.

He doesn’t have anything except the robes on his little back—and Din knows that.

Finally, Din turns his attention to where the both of you stand together, taking a few steps closer until he’s facing the child. “Ready to go home?” Din asks, his modulated voice full of joy—joy that’s forced. You know it, even if the baby can’t catch it. There’s a strain to the way he says the words that makes you just want to hold him in your arms until he feels at ease again.

The baby laughs happily at the sound of Din’s own joy, and it only gets louder when Din runs his gloved hand over the baby’s head. Before he steps away, Din presses his helmet to the child’s forehead, a gesture that he returns with his little hands tight against the beskar. You try your best not to be emotional at the sight, for the sake of both of them. You know you’ll need to be their rock today. They’ve created a connection as father and son that you can’t even begin to describe, knowing that they’d do anything to keep each other safe—and now they must say goodbye.

Din finally breaks away to head towards the hatch, lifting his gloved hand to press the button. You wait with anticipation, nervous butterflies fluttering around in your stomach as you look down to the baby who sits patiently in your arms. He looks back up at you, his ears drooping a bit when he sees your face that’s revealing some of your nerves. You smile at him, petting his ear and assuring him in a soft coo that you’re all right.

But, the hatch doesn’t open. Your brow furrows as you look from the child back to Din, who’s still standing there with his finger hovering over the button. When you look more closely, you can see his hand trembling as it sits in the air, as if half of him is trying to push the button and the other half is resisting. Your heart breaks apart inside your chest.

“Din—,” you start to call for him, your voice soft as you swallow hard.

“I can’t do it,” Din confesses in a tight voice, his gloved hand falling back to his side as he collapses onto one knee. You set the child down as Din practically rips off his helmet, discarding it to the side as he opens his arms to his son. “ _Olaro, ner ad’ika_ ,” he pleads, his voice breaking as the baby waddles as quickly as he can towards his father. His dark eyes glitter with unshed tears as he takes the baby in his arms, letting him grab at the cloth covering his neck and bury his little face there as he holds him tight.

You feel a sharp pain like nothing before ripple through your chest as you watch the scene, the baby’s ears drooped lower than ever on his head as Din struggles not to cry for his son. Those eyes you love so much are screwed shut, his shoulders tight in his effort not to fall apart completely at the seams. You resist the urge to rush over and comfort him, instead letting Din have his last moment with his son as you keep a hand pressed over your mouth to contain your own emotions.

“ _Ni naas ures gar, verd’ika_ ,” Din nearly wails, holding the back of the child’s head to keep it pressed tight against him. “ _Ni liniba gar_. _Ibic gar yaim_.” You watch as a single tear escapes Din’s eye, and he pulls the child away from himself to press his forehead back against his. “ _Ni gar yaim_.”

The baby whimpers as he places a hand over Din’s fallen tear, his ears drooped so low that they brush against Din’s gloved hands as he holds him in place. The sound absolutely devastates you, and you force yourself to take a deep and shaky breath as you start to approach them. Din looks up at you, his gaze full of such despair that it nearly brings you to your knees, but you remain strong as you place your hand on his shoulder. “Din, _ner riduur_ …”

“ _Cyar’ika_ , please, help me,” Din begs, his voice smaller than you’ve ever heard it as he gently rests his head against your leg that’s closest to him. “I can’t… I can’t do this. Can you—will you—.”

You know what he’s trying to ask you, even if he can’t bring himself to say the words. You nod at him, bending down to his level as you brush a hand over his hair. “I’ll do it, Din.”

Din gives you a weary nod, looking back to the child in his arms who’s obviously devastated now by his father’s emotional reaction. The child winces and Din shakes his head, pressing a gentle kiss to his tiny forehead. “ _Ret'urcye mhi, ad’ika. Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum._ ”

The baby reaches for one more touch of his forehead to his father’s, his big eyes sparkling with tears as he does so. Finally, with hands that tremble even more than before, Din hands the baby off to you, and you take him delicately. Before Din can step away with his helmet in hand, you reach for his cheek to give it a soft kiss, running one hand over the skin there as you meet his emotional gaze. “I’ll be quick, my star. Please, rest.”

Din nods at you, thanking you under his breath as he leans further into your touch. You brush a thumb over his cheek before you pull away, reaching for the button on the hatch and watching it lower further to the ground. The baby’s still saddened in your arms, but once you make your way down and enter the small village that’s straight ahead, his ears perk back up. Once he spots creatures who look like him, he lets out an excited squeal, and you can’t help laughing genuinely as you set him down and let him meet them himself.

One of them speaks in Base well enough to converse with you, and they thank you and Din over and over for keeping him safe. They share about how worried they’ve been and how great of a relief it is to have him reunited with his people once again. You agree with them, acknowledging how close you and Din have grown to the baby ever since taking it in. That’s when they agree to have you both visit whenever you like, insisting that the child will be back in good hands where he belongs.

Before you head back to the ship, you say your own goodbye to the baby, remaining as happy as you can to keep him from being even more emotional in the aftermath of his goodbye to his father. The baby’s still saddened to see you go, but you feel better about it when you see him surrounded by a group of his own people, and you assure him that you and Din will return to see him. He smiles at that, pressing his forehead to yours one last time before you let him go. You walk back to the ship with your arms wrapped tight around you, insistent upon holding yourself together—because you know what’s awaiting you back inside the _Crest_.

You close the hatch once you make your way inside, turning and instantly ascending up to the second deck. You step to the left and enter the storage room you’d both fashioned into your own bedroom, peeking your head in to see Din’s crumpled form in the corner of your makeshift bed. He’s still wearing all his armor aside from his helmet, and he sits solemnly with the child’s blue blanket in his hands. He looks up when you enter the room, his dark eyes still glittering with tears as you sit beside him.

“How is he?” Din asks, his voice hushed and tight.

“He was a bit sad,” you answer honestly, one of your hands returning to his cheek as he instantly leans towards you, “but he’s where he belongs. He was excited to see them.”

Din smiles just a bit at that, yet it quickly fades as his gaze falls back to the blanket in his hands. He swallows hard before he speaks again. “Why wasn’t he happy with us, _riduur?_ ”

You run your thumb continually over his cheek as you shake your head at him. “He _was_ happy with us, Din. Just because he has to leave doesn’t mean he wasn’t happy.” You bring your other hand to his other cheek, forcing him to look at you as you go on. “You were happy when you were with the Mandalorians growing up, weren’t you?” Din nods to confirm your words. “But if you had the chance to return home to your parents, would you have wanted to?” Din nods yet again. You smile bittersweetly at him. “Then that’s what _cuun ad’ika_ deserves, too. I know it’s hard to accept, Din, but he’s where he should be. We’ve spent _so_ much time trying to get him here, and we finally did it.”

Din sighs, letting the blanket fall onto his lap as his hands wrap around your wrists. “I know,” he agrees, lowering your hands from his face to instead lace his fingers through yours. “I’m being selfish. I just…” Din trails off for a moment, looking back up at you as his voice breaks once again, “I don’t know what I’ll do without him.”

You gently release Din’s hands to pull his head into your chest, letting his arms wrap around you as you run a hand through his hair. “I know, Din, I know. It’s going to be hard to adjust to life without him.” You press a kiss to his head when you feel the warmth of his tears through your shirt. “I’m going to miss him, too—more than I can say.” You pause as you collect your thoughts, still running your hand through his hair to soothe him. “But we can still have a family of our own, Din—and they said we can come visit him whenever we want. I’m sure he would be very, _very_ happy to learn that we found a home somewhere, too.”

Din nods against your chest, turning his head so that his cheek presses against it as he speaks. “Do you think he’ll remember us, _cyare?_ ”

“Of course, Din.” You press another kiss to his head. “Forever.”

Din sits in content silence with you for a few, long moments, eventually sitting up to face you once again. You hold his face in your hands as you wipe away any stray tears, leaning forward to kiss him as softly yet lovingly as you can. When you pull away, you press your forehead against his, looking deep in his eyes as you speak once again.

“How about you take off the rest of your armor while I get us back into hyperspace and towards Nevarro?” you suggest, earning a small smile and nod from Din. “Then, we can get some rest.”

Before you move to get up, Din pulls your lips back to his, melting into you as his hands grasp desperately at your face. He’s taken your breath away by the time he pulls away, his dark eyes softening as he looks at you. “Thank you, _ner kar’ta_ ,” he says so softly that you almost miss it, and you simply give him a nod in reply.

You stand up and head for the cockpit, pressing all the controls just as Din taught you as you set the coordinates for Nevarro. You’re out of the atmosphere of the planet before you know it, and soon you’re piloting the _Crest_ into the blue lane of hyperspace. You let out a sigh as you set it into autopilot, returning to the bedroom to tend to Din again. You find him lying where was before, this time stripped of his armor as he continues to hold the child’s blanket close to him. You get yourself ready for bed before you join him—but before you can hold him again, his hands reach for your face, making it face him as he looks at you with sympathy.

“ _Cyar’ika_ ,” Din begins gently, his dark eyes now soothing as he runs his thumbs over your cheeks. “Are _you_ okay?”

It’s almost as if his words become the key that unlocks your heart, making your true emotions spill over as you’re suddenly fighting tears. “I’m okay,” you try to assure him, smiling despite the fact you can see his figure blurring before you.

Din shakes his head at you. “It’s all right, _cyare_ ,” Din assures you, pulling you into his chest and holding you close. “You were there for me, and now I need to be here for you. Let it out.”

You release the few cries you’ve been holding tight to your chest, visions of the child smiling just before you left him swimming through your mind as you latch onto Din for dear life. Din coos sweet nothings to you, leaving kisses on your head after each phrase as he comforts you in the way he’s always known best. “I’m gonna miss him,” you whimper into Din’s tunic, collecting yourself as you absorb his touch.

“I’ll miss him, too,” Din agrees with you. “Hell, I already do.” He offers you the child’s blanket, and you hold it close to you as Din pulls you even further into him. “But you were right before, _ner kar’ta_. He’s where he belongs—and we can still have a family of our own.”

“He’ll always be our son,” you insist, finally lifting your face from his chest to press your nose against Din’s.

Your gazes never separate as you each manage a smile for each other. “Always.” Din presses a quick kiss upon your lips. “You were the best _buir_ he could’ve had.”

“And so were you, Din. He _adored_ you.”

Din smiles more at that. “I adore him, too.” He brushes his hand down the side of your face. “And I also adore _you_ , my _riduur_.” He gives you another kiss. “Now, we can find _our_ home.”

You smile wider just at the thought of finally settling down with Din, finding a home outside of the _Crest_ where you can live together in peace and have a family of your own. “I’d really like that, Din.”

“Good.” Din pulls you back into his chest, running his hand over your head as you hear a smile overtaking his lips. “I can’t wait to start a family with you, _cyar’ika_.”

You beam at his words, feeling your eyes fill with tears that are now for joy as you pull him closer. “Me neither, _riduur_.” You lift your face from his chest again to see that his eyes are doing the same thing as yours. “And once we have, we can take them to meet our first child.”

Din’s lips begin to tremble as his smile widens at that. “Perfect,” he whispers, his tears beginning to fall at the same time as yours as your lips meet yet again—salt meeting warmth as you make the seal that solidifies your promise to see out your bittersweet future together, one without your first child but with many more to come.

**Author's Note:**

> mando’a translations:  
> ad’ika = little one  
> riduur = spouse, partner  
> Olaro, ner ad’ika = Come, my little one  
> Ni naas ures gar, verd’ika = I’m nothing without you, little soldier  
> Ni liniba gar. Ibic gar yaim. = I need you. This is your home.  
> Ni gar yaim. = I’m your home.  
> cyar’ika = darling, sweetheart  
> Ret'urcye mhi, ad’ika. Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum. = Goodbye (lit. Maybe we’ll meet again), little one. I love you (lit. I’ll hold you in my heart forever).  
> cyare = beloved  
> ner kar’ta = my heart


End file.
